The Obama administration wants to push the re-set button on its relationship with Russia, but that may be tough given significant disagreements over policy.
Festering disputes over missile defense and Russia’s war last year with Georgia won’t be resolved at the Monday’s summit between President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, foreign policy experts have said over the past few days.
They predict a meeting whether the two sides will smile at one another while trying to push serious disputes to the side for the time being.
Andrew Kuchins, a director of the bipartisan Center for Strategic and International Studies, said low expectations should be the rule for the summit partly because Medvedev isn’t Russia’s real leader. (more)
Max Blumental reports on The Daily Beast that Sarah Palin may have quit her job today because she was trying to avert a major, yet-to-be-disclosed corruption scandal. The gist of the rumor is that an Alaska building company called Spenard Building Supplies (SBS) was awarded a contract by Palin to build a hockey arena in Wasilla, AK, and in return, SBS helped construct Palin’s home:
Many political observers in Alaska are fixated on rumors that federal investigators have been seizing paperwork from SBS in recent months, searching for evidence that Palin and her husband Todd steered lucrative contracts to the well-connected company in exchange for gifts like the construction of their home on pristine Lake Lucille in 2002. The home was built just two months before Palin began campaigning for governor, a job which would have provided her enhanced power to grant building contracts in the wide open state.
SBS has close ties to the Palins. The company has not only sponsored Todd Palin’s snowmobile team, according to the Village Voice’s Wayne Barrett, it hired Sarah Palin to do a statewide television commercial in 2004.
WANA, Pakistan (Reuters) – A U.S. drone aircraft fired missiles on Friday into Pakistan’s South Waziristan region, killing 10 militants, officials said, ahead of an expected Pakistani military offensive in the area.
A Pakistani military helicopter crashed in the northwest of the country, killing all 26 security personnel on board, officials said.
The helicopter came down because of a technical fault about 20 km (12 miles) from the city of Peshawar on the mountainous border of the Orakzai and Khyber ethnic Pashtun tribal regions, the official said.
The United States, facing a growing Afghan insurgency, began stepping up drone attacks on militant strongholds in lawless enclaves on the Pakistani side of the border a year ago despite Pakistani complaints.
Three missiles were fired at militant hideouts in an area near the Afghan border controlled by Pakistani Taliban leader and al Qaeda ally Baitullah Mehsud, killing 10 militants and wounding seven, two intelligence agency officials said. (more)
By JoAnn Wypijewski
The Nation
cross posted at Alternet.org
It’s hard loving a married man. One who is far away, with a life structured by family and history and expectation, who dreams of freedom but needs the chains.
It’s hard being that needed chain, the wife, icon of the known world, blameless victim whose sympathizers nevertheless cannot help daubing with the colors of failure.
Poor thing…
It’s not supposed to be hard being the married man with the lover and the wife and the life. That’s the life! — until he gets caught. Then the slurs come swiftly, predictably: narcissist, cheater, hypocrite, pig.
In the latest political sex scandal, which isn’t a scandal at all but a circumstance as old and common as time, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, Jenny Sanford and María Belén Chapur have provided an edifying example of pain as a condition of life, love as both a drowning pool and sustaining spring, adultery as the monogamy system’s disowned twin. And all that liberals can talk about is what a fraud he is. No sooner had Sanford made his forced confession than the knees of the righteous, in this case Rachel Maddow, Maureen Dowd and legions of Democratic water-carriers-cum-bloggers, snapped in unison. “Hypocrite!” they didn’t quite thunder. Christians thunder; liberals sneer, but it amounts to the same thing, counting sins. (more)
A construction crew contracted to do a survey of the condition of water and sewer infrastructure in Raleigh, North Carolina, filmed a mysterious slimy pulsating mass on the inside of old pipes with a sewer cam.
The video footage of the phenomenon was uploaded to Youtube (see the video below) on June 30 and has since gotten nearly 5 million views at the time of writing, with some people speculating that the globs could be an alien life form growing in the sewer systems.
Ed Buchan, the environmental coordinator at the Raleigh Public Utilities Department squelched the rumors that the video was of a new life form, saying that it was actually a colony of worms that live in sac-like blobs attached to tree roots that grow in and around the older pipes. The sacs of worms are extremely light sensitive and move in response to the brightness and heat from the camera lights.
A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in the Baldwin HIlls/Crenshaw area of South L.A., authorities said today.
Hon. Judge John Thaddeus Doyle, 56, was arrested about 11:15 p.m. Thursday after officers with the LAPD’s South Traffic Division pulled him over in the 4500 block of Don Felipe Drive for an unspecified traffic violation.
Doyle, a criminal court judge, is assigned to the Compton Superior Courthouse, where last August he oversaw the conviction of two men in the 2006 murder of two gas station employees in Carson.
The Compton courtroom was closed Friday for the 4th of July holiday. No further details about the arrest were available.
Doyle was released on $30,000 bail, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Sarah Palin has announced her abdication of the Governorship of Alaska. If I were a citizen of Alaska, and especially if I had voted for her, I’d be pissed off.
Who cares if she feels she has checked off her personal laundry list of things to do? There remains a long list of responsibilities still yet to be fulfilled as Governor. You don’t quit just because you want to pursue a new ambition. The job is bigger and more important than your own personal agenda.
She opened the speech today by saying she was so happy to have the chance to speak directly to the people of Alaska whom she is so honored to serve. Well, “service” is bigger than the person in the big chair. It’s an honor that comes with a mission bestowed on the person elected and you just don’t drop it to pursue other goals.
Mike Huckabee didn’t do that. Mitt Romney didn’t do that. They kept their eyes on the ball for Arkansas and Massachusetts while keeping their eyes on the prize of the 2008 GOP nomination. (more)
LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles city officials are preparing for massive crowds downtown during Tuesday’s public memorial for Michael Jackson at Staples Center, even though only 17,500 tickets are being offered to the public.
Assistant Police Chief Earl Paysinger says anywhere from a quarter-million to 700,000 people may try to reach the arena, even though a wide area around Staples Center will be sealed off to those without tickets.
City Councilwoman Jan Perry strongly urged people to stay home and watch the memorial on TV. The ceremony will not be shown on Staples’ giant outdoor TV screen and there will be no funeral procession through the city.
But public safety officials appeared to assume their requests to stay home would have little effect. Since Jackson’s death, fans have flocked to Jackson sites from Los Angeles to his Neverland Ranch in rural Santa Barbara County. (more)
The right wing has a new target: Kevin Jennings, whom President Obama appointed Assistant Deputy Secretary at the Department of Education for the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools (OSDFS). Jennings has had a distinguished career as a teacher, author, and founder of Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), an organization that works to make schools safe for all students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
It is primarily Jennings’ work with GLSEN that has so outraged the far right. The Family Research Council (FRC) launched the “Stop Kevin Jennings” campaign this week, warning that he is a “radical homosexual activist” who has “worked tirelessly to bring the homosexual agenda into our nation’s classrooms.” “His history demonstrates disregard for our obligations to safeguard the health and well being of the student population,” writes FRC President Tony Perkins.
ThinkProgress investigated FRC’s claims and spoke to people who have worked with Jennings. A look at some of the “facts” about him. (more)
A list of at least seven related conversations involving Cheney appears in a new court filing approved by Obama appointees at the Justice Department. In the filing, the officials argue that the substance of what Cheney told special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald in 2004 must remain secret.
No such agreement was reached between Fitzgerald and Cheney at the time of their chat, according to a 2008 Fitzgerald letter to lawmakers. But the Bush administration rejected requests by Congress and a nonprofit group for access to two FBI accounts of the conversation, saying the material was exempt from disclosure under subpoena or the Freedom of Information Act.
The Obama administration has since agreed that the material should not be disclosed. A Justice Department lawyer at one point last month argued that vice presidents and other White House officials will decline to be interviewed in the future if they know their remarks might “get on ‘The Daily Show’ ” or be used as fodder for political enemies. (more)
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Senator-elect Al Franken will meet with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and be sworn in Tuesday, according to Reid’s office.
Franken has been assigned suite 320 in the Hart Senate Office Building, the same office used by former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman, who conceded the race earlier this week.
You no doubt have heard that a group of people including former Democratic Representative Cynthia McKinney of Georgia have been imprisoned in Israel for trying to take medical and other aid to children and families in Gaza.
Below she talks about her ordeal (still in progress) with WBAIX (in Exile).
WASILLA, Alaska – Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin says she is resigning from office.
She didn’t say why she decided to step down, but the surprise announcement stirred speculation that she would focus on a bid for the 2012 Republican nomination for president.
The former Republican vice presidential candidate made the announcement from her home in suburban Wasilla on Friday morning. She said she would step down July 26.
Spokesman Dave Murrow says Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell will be inaugurated at the governor’s picnic in Fairbanks at the end of the month.
Palin was first elected in 2006 on a populist platform. But her popularity has waned as she waged in partisan politics following her return from the presidential campaign.
TEHRAN (Reuters) – A senior Iranian cleric warned on Friday that detained British embassy staff would face trial for their alleged role in post-election unrest, and EU countries summoned Iranian envoys to protest against the detentions.
Britain said it was urgently seeking clarification from Iranian authorities over Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati’s comments to worshippers during Friday prayers in Tehran.
“In these developments (the unrest) their embassy here maintained a presence,” Jannati said. “Individuals were arrested and inevitably they will be tried as they have (made) confessions.”
Jannati is a conservative who heads the Guardian Council, a powerful 12-member constitutional watchdog which upheld the official result of the June 12 presidential election — won by hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad but rejected as a fraud by moderate challenger Mirhossein Mousavi. (more)
By LINDA DEUTSCH and THOMAS WATKINS
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES – The investigation of Michael Jackson’s death is widening as questions intensify about the drugs he took, the doctors who provided them and the actions of police.
Why didn’t police seal the mansion where he had been living? Why didn’t they get immediate search warrants? Why did they tow away a doctor’s car right after the death but not declare the home a crime scene? And why was Jackson’s sister Janet allowed to move possessions out of the mansion two days after the death, before police searched it?
Los Angeles police say proper procedures were followed based on the circumstances officers encountered when they were called to the home at 12:21 p.m. on June 25. A doctor was attending to Jackson and stayed with him when he was placed in an ambulance at 1:07 p.m. There was no sign of foul play.
Others say police should have assumed it was possible a crime occurred and taken precautions to ensure the scene was not disrupted so evidence wasn’t lost or tainted. (more)
WASHINGTON – First you paid to insure your car. Soon you may have to add health insurance premiums to that stack of monthly bills as well.
In a revamped health care system envisioned by senators, people would be required to carry health insurance just like motorists must get auto coverage now. The government would provide subsidies for the poor and many middle-class families, but those who still refuse to sign up would face fines of more than $1,000.
The details were unveiled Thursday in a health care overhaul bill supported by key Senate Democrats looking to fulfill President Barack Obama’s top domestic priority.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated the fines would raise around $36 billion over 10 years. Senate aides said the penalties would be modeled on the approach taken by Massachusetts, which now imposes a fine of about $1,000 a year on individuals who refuse to get coverage. Under the federal legislation, families would pay higher penalties than individuals. (more)
By Margaret Talev and Steven Thomma
McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON — If North Korea fires a missile at Hawaii on or around the July Fourth holiday, as Japanese reports have warned, the U.S. plans a measured response in coordination with Russia , China , Japan and South Korea .
In an exclusive interview with McClatchy , White House National Security Adviser James L. Jones said of North Korea and its erratic communist dictator Kim Jong Il: “Our reaction will be dependent on what it is they do over the next few days, few weeks, whatever it is.”
Jones said that the U.S. has “looked at a range of options that we have at our disposal” and is maintaining “an open and constant dialogue” with Russia , China , Japan and South Korea , all of whom share regional interests.
Recent Japanese reports said that North Korea plans a missile attack on Hawaii , about 4,500 miles distant, around July 4 . As of Thursday, however, U.S. experts on North Korea said there’s no evidence of an impending long-range launch. (more)
NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. marshals seized the luxury $7 million New York City penthouse apartment of imprisoned fraudster Bernard Madoff and his wife, Ruth, officials said on Thursday.
A spokesman for the U.S. Marshals Service said Mrs. Madoff was present when agents took possession of the four-bedroom apartment on Manhattan’s East Side under court orders and then she left. It was not known where she would live and her lawyer could not be reached for comment.
Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff, 71, was sentenced on Monday to an effective life term for Wall Street’s biggest investment fraud of as much as $65 billion. He was arrested by the FBI last December and he pleaded guilty in March.
U.S. Marshals Service spokesman Roland Ubaldo told reporters and photographers outside the building that marshals spent about three hours securing the premises. (more)
A couple of weeks ago, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a preliminary score of the health care legislation under consideration in the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. The bill was estimated to cost $1 trillion over 10 years, while reducing the number of uninsured by “only” one-third. As many informed bloggers noted at the time, the cost estimate was incomplete because the legislation that the CBO reviewed did not contain language about a public health insurance plan or an employer mandate.
Nevertheless, Republicans seized on the opportunity to engage in merciless political attacks, citing the incomplete CBO score as proof that health care reform is not worth doing:
John McCain: “[The CBO estimate] should be a wake up call for all of us to scrap the current bill and start over in a true bipartisan fashion.”
John Boehner: “[T]he public option would cost over $1 trillion, and would cause 23 million Americans to lose their private health care coverage.”
Lindsey Graham: “The CBO estimates were a death blow to a government run health care plan.”
AS they do every July, hospitals across America are welcoming new interns, fresh from medical school graduation. Given how much these trainees have yet to learn, common wisdom holds that it’s not a good time of year to get sick. This may be particularly true for older patients, because American medical schools require no training in geriatric medicine.
Often even experienced doctors are unaware that 80-year-olds are not the same as 50-year-olds. Pneumonia in a 50-year-old causes fever, cough and difficulty breathing; an 80-year-old with the same illness may have none of these symptoms, but just seem “not herself” — confused and unsteady, unable to get out of bed.
She may end up in a hospital, where a doctor prescribes a dose of antibiotic that would be right for a woman in her 50s, but is twice as much as an 80-year-old patient should get, and so she develops kidney failure, and grows weaker and more confused. In her confusion, she pulls the tube from her arm and the catheter from her bladder.
Instead of re-evaluating whether the tubes are needed, her doctor then asks the nurses to tie her arms to the bed so she won’t hurt herself. This only increases her agitation and keeps her bed-bound, causing her to lose muscle and bone mass. Eventually, she recovers from the pneumonia and her mind is clearer, so she’s considered ready for discharge — but she is no longer the woman she was before her illness. She’s more frail, and needs help with walking, bathing and daily chores. (more)
An investigator at the Securities and Exchange Commission warned superiors as far back as 2004 about irregularities at Bernard L. Madoff’s financial management firm, but she was told to focus on an unrelated matter, according to agency documents and sources familiar with the investigation.
Genevievette Walker-Lightfoot, a lawyer in the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, sent e-mails to a supervisor, saying information provided by Madoff during her review didn’t add up and suggesting a set of questions to ask his firm, documents show. Several of these questions directly challenged Madoff activities that much later turned out to be elements of his massive fraud.
But with the agency under pressure to look for wrongdoing in the mutual fund industry, she wasn’t able to continue pursuing Madoff, according to documents and two people familiar with the investigation, and her team soon concluded its work on the probe.
Walker-Lightfoot’s supervisors on the case were Mark Donohue, then a branch chief in her department, and his boss, Eric Swanson, an assistant director of the department, said two people familiar with the investigation. Swanson later married Madoff’s niece, and their relationship is now under review by the agency’s inspector general, who is examining the SEC’s handling of the Madoff case. (more)
A conservative lobby group is planning to launch an attack ad against President Barack Obama, in which the group compares the U.S. president to Adolf Hitler.
Our Country Deserves Better PAC plans to launch the TV ads on July 7. In the meantime, they’ve posted a sneak peek to YouTube.
“As the regime spun out of control, they labeled political opponents domestic terrorists, and warned of confrontations between such groups and government authorities,” the preview ad begins.
“They proposed a civilian security force, and a Congressman warned it was exactly what Hitler did in Nazi Germany. Opposition heightened after voter fraud by the president’s allies, including thousands of bogus voter registration,” it continues. (more)
GARMSIR, Afghanistan (Reuters) – Thousands of U.S. Marines stormed deep into Taliban territory in an Afghan river valley on Thursday, launching the biggest military offensive of Barack Obama’s presidency.
The Marines say Operation Khanjar, or Strike of the Sword, will be decisive and is intended to seize virtually the entire lower Helmand River valley, the heartland of the Taliban insurgency and the world’s biggest opium poppy producing region.
In swiftly seizing the valley, commanders hope to accomplish within hours what overstretched NATO troops had failed to achieve over several years, and by doing so turn the tide of a stalemated war in time for an Afghan presidential election in August.
“The intent is to go big, go strong and go fast, and by doing so we are going to save lives on both sides,” Brigadier-General Larry Nicholson, commander of the Marines in southern Afghanistan, told his staff before the operation. (more)
A dangerous situation is brewing on the Korean peninsula and it has me, someone who is typically anti-war, of the opinion that we might need to act militarily to stop a potential catastrophe.
The North Koreans are planning to launch a new longer-range missile, called the “Unha-2″ on or about July 4th. There are arguments about the capabilities of this missile, but it is generally agreed that at the least, the missile will have the capability to reach Alaska and Hawaii. Some estimates have the missile able to reach the continental United States. See this article from the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/features/post-launch-examination-of-the-unha-2 and this article http://www.planostar.com/articles/2009/06/30/plano_star-courier/news/621.txt from the Plano Star for discussions regarding the capabilities of North Korean Missile Technology. The North Koreans have said they will aim the missile about to be launched in the direction of the United States.
If you combine the capabilities of this missile with the fact that North Korea has tested two nuclear weapons over the past three years, the concern becomes very serious. The UN considered it serious enough to ban all weapons exports from the DPRK. To make matters worse, the North Koreans have threatened to “shower the US with a nuclear fire” if “attacked” see http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/25/north-korea-nuclear-threat and as I mentioned have already said they will target the US with this missile. (more)
Sarah Palin has announced her abdication of the Governorship of Alaska. If I were a citizen of Alaska, and especially if I had voted for her, I’d be pissed off.
LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles city officials are preparing for massive crowds downtown during Tuesday’s public memorial for Michael Jackson at Staples Center, even though only 17,500 tickets are being offered to the public.
WASILLA, Alaska – Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin says she is resigning from office.
TEHRAN (Reuters) – A senior Iranian cleric warned on Friday that detained British embassy staff would face trial for their alleged role in post-election unrest, and EU countries summoned Iranian envoys to protest against the detentions.
GARMSIR, Afghanistan (Reuters) – Thousands of U.S. Marines stormed deep into Taliban territory in an Afghan river valley on Thursday, launching the biggest military offensive of Barack Obama’s presidency.